


Orange Colored Sky

by Ayzup



Series: The Chronicles of Sophie [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Family Feels, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Language, Preston is a good person, epic journey incoming
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-12 02:32:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13537815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayzup/pseuds/Ayzup
Summary: Follow Sophie Jenkins, one of two survivors of Vault 111, as she travels the Commonwealth and learns all of the secrets it holds.





	1. It's All Over But The Crying

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title from the song Orange Colored Sky by Nat King Cole
> 
> Tags will be added as the story progresses

_It’s all over but the crying_

_And nobody’s crying but me_

~~~

The first sensation she registered as consciousness slowly spread through her was a blossoming warmth pressed against her side. There was also a warm, strong arm wrapped around her back, and it was then that she realized she was moving - or, rather, being moved, as her feet stumbled far more than they actually found the floor.

Finally, her eyes opened and her vision focused. The narrow, steely corridor indicated that she was still inside the Vault, but at least she was away from her decontamination pod. There was a sudden movement on the other side of the window to her left, but she didn’t catch what it was.

She then craned her neck to look up at whoever was practically carrying her through the Vault. He was tall - he even had to stoop slightly to keep her feet scuffling along the floor - with dark hair and a faint five o’ clock shadow that almost successfully hid the weathered lines of his face but couldn’t hide his grim expression. When he looked down at her, she noticed his eyes were dark and unreadable. He was almost familiar, but her brain was still foggy from being frozen.

“...-ite?” His lips moved, but she only caught a small part of the end of his question.

“What-?” She became increasingly aware of the alarms sounding off around them. They walked over to a low cabinet and he eased her down gently to sit and regain her bearings.

“Are you injured? Can you tell me of any frostbite? I didn’t see any on your hands or face.”

It took a couple of minutes, but after a quick self-assessment, she came to the conclusion that she didn’t feel anything worse than a general aching cold. She shook her head in response to his question.

“What’s your name?” he asked with a small smile.

“Sophie. Sophie Jenkins.”

“Hi Sophie, I’m Nate. I’m going to get you out of here.”

Sophie frowned. “What about my family? They’re still back in those… those decontamination pods.”

“I have to get you out of here first.” Nate paused and picked up a security baton that was on the floor next to the cabinet Sophie sat on. He gave it a test swing and nodded in satisfaction. “This ought to help. Come on, we need to find a way out.” He held out a hand to help her up, which she took although she was still unsure about what he suggested.

“But the bombs! We’ll never survive the radiation if we go up there!” Despite her protests, Nate kept walking toward the door at the other end of the hall, and Sophie followed him.

“It can’t be worse than staying here. There’s no food, no water, and the pods don’t work. The least we can do it try- shit!” Both of them jumped back as a giant roach leapt at them. Sophie scurried behind Nate as he struck the oversized insect with the security baton.

“What the hell?” she muttered. Nate rushed ahead to take care of the other one blocking their path.

“You just stay behind me, alright? I won’t let them get you.”

They only encountered two more before they reached the Overseer’s office. There were a few stimpaks on the desk as well as a gun and extra rounds for it. Nate grabbed everything before heading toward the open storage closet while Sophie looked through the entries on the terminal.

“Lab rats… Vault-Tec was using people seeking shelter from the bombs as _lab rats,_ ” Sophie said, horror-stricken as her eyes skimmed the text on the screen. They preyed upon the innocent and scared for science.

“Did you find a way to open the security door?” Nate asked, walking back toward the desk with a second gun in his hands.

“Yeah, I can open it from here.”

“Before you do, take this.” He handed her one of the guns and two of the four boxes of bullets he found.

“You’re joking, right? I don’t know how to use a gun!” Sophie looked at the firearm in her hands like it was going to spontaneously combust.

“It’s easy, let me show you.” Nate adjusted her grip and helped her aim the gun at the door. “This is a 10mm; it doesn’t have as much recoil and it’s beginner-friendly. Aim by looking through the sights here, disengage the safety, pull the trigger to fire, and eject your clip to reload like so.”

Sophie had to admit, the gun was simple enough to use and it seemed more efficient than the security baton. Once Nate was satisfied that she wouldn’t shoot herself in the foot by mistake, they opened the door to the evacuation tunnel, where they found half a dozen more roached. Sophie managed to take one out after missing the first few shots, while Nate quickly took care of the other five.

“I used to be in the army,” he briefly explained when she gave in an incredulous look.

It didn’t take them long to reach the large gear-shaped door that led out of the Vault. Two skeletons laid haphazardly on the floor, and Sophie eyed them with no small amount of concern.

“Did… _no one_ make it out alive?” she murmured.

Nate gave no response, but he stooped to take the Pip-Boy from the skeleton nearest the control panel. After a moment of fiddling with the knobs and buttons, the screen blinked to life, and he was able to plug it into the panel and open the Vault door. More lights flashed and steam emitted from the machinery as the door was unsealed, rolled away, and the metal walkway extended.

Sophie felt a warm hand on her shoulder and she looked up at Nate, who was beside her once again. Both remained silent until they made it to the elevator.

“We’re not coming back, are we? We’re the only survivors.” The young woman looked up at this man she had only just met as though he held the answers to the many questions that now plagued her.

“There is one more,” he replied slowly. “My son, Shaun. He was kidnapped from the Vault, and I’m going to find him.”

Sophie nodded and looked up as they ascended. She had no one left except Nate, and all he had was his son. More than that, she owed him her life. “I’ll help you. We’ll find your son together.”

 

~~~

 

_“Here it is! You know, I was simply touched when Lydia phoned and said she wanted to borrow something of mine for her special day.”_

_“There’s no one else she’d want to have with her, except perhaps Mom.”_

_A woman in her late thirties held a small box in her hands as she sat on the bed next to her niece. She removed the lid and gently lifted a netted hair piece to show off. It was white, adorned with manufactured crystals and pearls, and had a simple silver clip attached to the top._

_“She’ll add a small flower arrangement here to match her bouquet,” the older woman explained as she handed it over._

_“Oh, Aunt Nancy, she’ll be so surprised! Lydia has always said that she wants to look as elegant as you did on your wedding day.”_

_“You’re a very thoughtful Maid of Honor, Sophie. No wonder Lydia asked you instead of Heather.”_

_Sophie laughed. “Even Heather can admit to being scatterbrained. If she had been put in charge of the planning, it would all be done in the week before the wedding day!”_

_Sophie’s aunt just smiled and put the hair piece back in its box. “I have one more thing for you to take home. Now, you go out and wait with your uncle while I get it all ready for you.”_

_Sophie took the box, kissed her aunt on the cheek, and skipped out to the living room, where her Uncle Robert sat reading the newspaper. She was the portrait of happiness and youthful innocence. Round, perpetually curious, hazel eyes and the ever-present hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips indicated no troubles in her life despite the war tearing apart the rest of the world. Vibrant red-orange hair hung in loose waves just past her shoulders and stood out against her pale skin and the pale blue dress she wore. Only wild enough to get into minor trouble and sweet enough to talk her way out of most consequences, she carried herself with a carefree, confident air._

_“Damn Reds are getting too close,” Robert muttered as she sat on the sofa across from his recliner chair. “You find yourself a nice soldier boy to marry, one that has his priorities straight and will make our country proud, like your sisters’ boyfriends have done.”_

_“Yes Uncle Robert.”_

_Sophie could hear voices outside, which seemed unusual for her aunt and uncle’s neighborhood. She looked at Uncle Robert, who either didn’t notice the commotion or didn’t care, and then decided to investigate for herself._

_The sky was a hue of orange that reminded Sophie of molten lava, and it smelled like someone had started a chemical fire somewhere. People were running out of their homes and toward a wooded area to one side of the cul de sac. Children cried and everyone seemed to be in some sort of panic. It was then that the sirens began to wail. Sophie’s eyes widened as she realized what was happening. She turned to run back to the house and collided with a security officer._

_“This way to the Vault, Miss! There’s no time to lose!” he instructed, trying to usher her toward the steady stream of people._

_“But my family-”_

_“We’ll make sure they get to the Vault too, but you have to go!”_

_Sophie considered arguing, but it was this man’s job to make sure everyone was safe, so she trusted him to get her aunt and uncle to safety. She had no idea where the Vault was, but she followed the other frenzied residents of Sanctuary Hills along the path and up the hill until she reached a gate. It looked as though the guards weren’t letting some people through, but she nevertheless pushed her way up to the front._

_“I’m with Robert and Nancy Callis,” she said, hoping that they were at least on the list._

_“There’s nothing about them having a child on their form… but I’m sure it was just an oversight. Go ahead.” The man with the clipboard let her pass, and she followed the directions of the other Vault-Tec security officers the rest of the way up the hill until she reached a large, round platform upon which a few other people stood, looking around nervously._

_As soon as Sophie stood among them, the officer nearest the platform gestured to a small control booth a few yards away and shouted, “First group is ready to go down!”_

_With a groan and a scratch of metal against metal, the platform descended into the Vault. Sophie could hear voices from above as the opening became no larger than a dinner plate; the next wave of people was getting ready to follow them underground._

 

~~~

 

The sunlight was brighter than Sophie remembered, and it took a long moment for her eyes to adjust. Once they did, the sight that surrounded her filler her with grief and unease. The entire atmosphere was still and quiet and… _dead_. More skeletons were scattered about nearby, the trees and bushes were twisted and bare.

“We should go home and…” Nate’s thought drifted off as he caught the morbidity of their surroundings.

“And see what’s left?” Sophie suggested. Nate nodded, which she returned, and the two of them started back down the hill toward the neighborhood. The only sign of life around them was a couple of crows, watching the pair in a way that was eerily reminiscent of vultures.

“It’s so quiet,” Sophie murmured, sticking close to her new companion. She didn’t like how empty the world around them sounded.

“Hopefully we can find someone who can tell us what’s going on,” Nate replied.

The closer they got to the cul de sac, the more apparent it was that Nate’s hope wouldn’t be a very likely reality. When they breached the line of houses, Nate veered to the left; Sophie hesitated and cast a quick glance in the opposite direction before following him.

“As I live and breathe!”

Sophie’s eyes widened at the sight of the Mr. Handy robot. It looked a little dinged up overall, with a touch of rust around the edges, but it tended to the bushes outside of a house as though the community hadn’t just suffered from the effects of radiation.

“Codsworth! You’re still here!” Nate exclaimed, the ghost of a hopeful grin playing across his features. “That means others could still be alive too…”

“Well of course I’m still here! Surely you don’t think a little radiation could deter the pride of General Atomics International! But you seem a little worse for wear. Best not let the missus see you in that state. Is she… with you?” The robot floated far enough to the side so that it could turn all three of its eye stalks to look at Sophie. She was alarmed by the sudden attention; though the Mr. Handy couldn’t exactly display an expression, she somehow got the feeling that he was judging her.

“She’s… in a better place,” Nate explained softly. He put a hand on Sophie’s shoulder and cleared his throat before continuing, “This is Sophie. She’s the only other survivor from the Vault, so we’re going to stick together.”

Codsworth shifted his focus back to Nate and bobbed a bit in the air. “Sir, these things you’re saying, these terrible things… You must be suffering from hunger-induced paranoia. Not eating properly for two hundred years will do that, I’m afraid.”

“Two hundred years?” Sophie repeated incredulously, looking up at Nate with concern. All he could do was shrug, his expression as shocked as she felt; he didn’t have any more answers than she did.

“A little over two hundred and ten, actually, Miss. I can whip up a snack for the two of you, and the lad.”

“Shaun is missing, Codsworth. He was kidnapped, and we’re going to find him.” Nate looked at Sophie, whose head was still reeling with the information that Vault-Tec had frozen them for two hundred and ten years. “It wasn’t that long ago; I broke out of the pod soon after it happened, but not soon enough to catch them.”

Sophie nodded silently, her gaze shifting slowly back down the street to where her aunt and uncle’s house was. She didn’t even know for sure if they made it to the Vault, but it didn’t matter now. Either way, they’d be dead. Her parents and sisters were definitely gone too.

She didn’t realize she had begun crying until she felt Nate wrap his arms around her. They stood like that for a few minutes until her sobs subsided, and then she took a step back to wipe her face.

“I’m okay,” she said; the way her voice shook didn’t make her claim particularly convincing.

“You don’t have to be,” Nate assured her.

“I know… but I am. I’m ready to find Shaun.” She gave him as big of a smile as she could muster, and he took her hand to give it a gentle squeeze.

“Sir?” Codsworth interjected again. “There are some people near Concord who may be able to help you find young Shaun.”

“Well, it’s a start. Thanks, Codsworth.”


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sophie and Nate look for help in Concord and end up offering some help of their own.

Chapter Two

 

_ Hold onto me as we go _

_ As we roll down this unfamiliar road _

 

Neither Sophie nor Nate felt like sleeping after being unconscious for two centuries, so they ended up searching the few houses that were still standing for anything useful. They found more ammunition for their pistols, as well as some shotgun shells - but no shotgun, oddly enough - and some food, the kind that came in airtight packages and was manufactured to survive a nuclear war.

Nate’s house was still intact, so they decided to both settle there - he insisted, but Sophie didn’t argue. She didn’t want to be on her own anyway. They both ditched their Vault suits; Nate put on his old army fatigues and he found a floral skirt, a white top, and a denim vest for Sophie. She told him that she had been visiting relatives here and she actually lived south of Boston.

“We can go see what’s left down there whenever you want,” he offered.

Sophie shook her head. “I think I’d rather just have my old memories of home.”

In the end, she told Nate to keep the Pip-Boy from the Vault - it was more valuable to him in his search for his son, and Sophie would follow him anyway - and the two of them headed over the bridge and away from the neighborhood.

There was a Red Rocket Truck Stop not too far from Sanctuary Hills.

“Let’s see if anyone left anything useful there,” Nate suggested once it came into view. He scoped out the garage and began poking around the workbenches; Sophie decided to go around and check out the convenience area. Before she reached the door, something burst out of the ground. She shrieked and stumbled back, falling to the ground as she reached for her gun. The thing (whatever is was, she still hadn’t caught a good look of it) leapt at her, but before it landed, another something tackled it out of the air. There was a growl and a wet ripping sound, and then all was quiet.

Sophie dared to open one eye and came face to face with a dog. It sat in front of the creature that had tried to attack her, which turned out to be the largest, ugliest mole rat she had ever seen in her life. She reached a tentative hand toward the dog, who sniffed it and then gave her a gentle lick.

“Sophie!” Nate rushed into view from around the side of the building. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I, uh, made a new friend.” Her statement was punctuated by a giggle as the dog brushed its nose against her cheek.

Nate visibly relaxed. “I see that.” He walked over to the dead rodent and nudged it with his boot. “Your friend’s handiwork, I assume?”

“Well, I certainly didn’t tear its throat out with my teeth.” Sophie stood and brushed herself off. “I wonder who he belongs to?”

The dog sat patiently and looked from Sophie to Nate, who was watching it with interest. This dog probably knew more about this world than either of them would learn on their own, and he seemed eager enough to help them.

“You wanna come with us boy? We’ll all stick together,” Nate said, kneeling so that he could scratch their new friend behind the ears.

Sophie grinned; she had always wanted a dog growing up, but her father was too allergic. “Did you find anything useful?”

Nate shook his head. “Just a lot of junk. Aluminum cans and half-used bottles of glue. We should keep moving.”

The three of them headed out again and down the hill toward Concord. Nate found a map on his Pip-Boy and figured out how to mark various locations on it, which was especially helpful since it tracked his location as they walked.

“I think I can believe it’s been two hundred years,” Sophie said as they walked. Cars on the side of the road were stripped bare and rusted, and plants had begun to envelop them back to nature. As they drew closer to Concord, the buildings that were still standing were only partials, with holes blown into roofs and ceilings. It almost felt wrong to be living and wandering the way they were; Sophie wondered if they would fit in better as ghosts in this town.

“I wonder how long ago Codsworth encountered people here,” Nate said. He looked unsure as they entered the town.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if it was a while ago, the people he mentioned might not even be here anymore.”

The two of them paused to listen carefully. Sophie could hear something very faint in the distance. Firecrackers? “There’s someone here…” she murmured. If the look Nate gave her was any indication, he didn’t hear what she did. She nodded her head toward the other end of the street and started to walk in the direction of the noise. As they ventured forward, she realized it wasn’t firecrackers, but gunshots, and several people were shouting.

Nate gestured with one hand for Sophie to stay back while he crept along the side of one of the buildings to get a look at what was going on. He pulled out his gun as he peeked around the corner, and Sophie’s own hand brushed against the pistol at her hip. After a moment, Nate waved her over, and she tried to be as quiet as possible.

“There’s probably eight or nine out there, all firing on one building,” he explained.

“So what do we do?”

“I think we need to get in that building. Maybe there’s a back entrance?” Nate started to herd Sophie back in the direction from which they came, but she grabbed his arm suddenly and looked around.

“Wait… where’s the dog?” she asked. He had been sticking close to her side… until they drew near to the firefight.

“Maybe the gunshots scared him off?” Nate suggested. Just then, there was a loud bark and a cry of pain. Both Vault-dwellers whirled around to follow the source of the barks and found their canine companion attempting to rip off some guy’s leg while the victim was shooting and missing both the dog and the open window of the building.

Before Sophie could ask what the new plan was, Nate darted out into the street to fire his gun at the man in the dog’s teeth. With a deep breath, she also popped her head around the corner and began shooting at the people who were now targeting Nate. Everything was so loud and chaotic, but she managed to catch his signal to start heading toward the front door of the building.

“Hey!” called a voice from above. “Grab that laser musket before you come inside! You’re going to want it!”

Nate pulled open the door and ushered Sophie and the dog inside before grabbing the larger gun and dashing in after them.

“ _ That _ was absolutely terrifying,” Sophie remarked as soon as the door was shut. No sooner did the words pass her lips than a bullet whizzed past, inches from her head, and blew through the door.

Nate grabbed her hand pulled her toward the doorway to their right. “Stay low and close,” he instructed. She crouched behind him, sticking close to the wall and not daring to watch as he fired at whoever tried to shoot them. There was a pained cry and a loud thud as the body hit the floor from the level above. Sophie looked up at Nate; there was a moment of silence before she stood.

“We don’t know how many more are in here, so let’s move quietly and see if we can catch them by surprise,” he whispered.

“But they know we’re coming,” she replied just as quietly. “They probably even heard our gunshots outside.”

“Yeah, but,” Nate countered as he reloaded the musket, “they don’t know where exactly in the building we are.” They continued down the hall and rounded the corner into a small room. Their movement triggered the lights to go on and a gentle tune to begin playing. “Wait a minute… This is the Museum of Freedom! I took Nora on a date here!” Nate looked around at the figures dressed in colonial outfits.

Sophie raised an eyebrow and turned a judgmental gaze on her companion. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Hey, it looked a lot better before the nuclear apocalypse.” The dog tilted its head at Nate as though to also judge him, and the veteran sighed. “Let’s just keep moving.”

As they got closer to the next room, they could hear voices that weren’t part of the museum’s recordings. “I’m tellin’ you, man, let’s just get outta here.”

Sophie made sure the safety of her gun was disengaged before she slipped around Nate to sneak up on the two men in the room. She was doing rather well until her foot found a squeaky floorboard, and she froze in her tracks.

“What the fuck was that?”

She sprang up and unloaded her full clip into them. At such a close range, her accuracy was much better, and both men dropped to the floor before she was done firing.

“That was thorough,” Nate muttered as he came up behind her. “You okay?” She nodded and he patted her on the shoulder before moving around the low, only partially-intact wall to dig around in the pockets of the dead men.

“What the hell, Nate?!” Sophie exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

“I’m looking for spare ammo, especially since you used an entire clip on two hostiles.” When he pulled away, he ended up with a fistful of bullets and also some… bottlecaps? An odd thing to collect, but he pocketed everything anyway.

While he was doing that, Sophie made her way over to the far wall, where a baseball bat was propped against it. She picked it up; this felt a lot better in her hands than the gun, and she acknowledged Nate’s questioning looked as she holstered her pistol and rested the bat on her shoulder. “You found your goodies; this one’s mine,” she said with a grin.

Around the corner, they found a crumbling staircase, which their four-legged friend scurried up with ease. They encountered one more hostile, who they caught unawares and taking a hit of… something out of a canister. She was too slow to grab her weapon, and Nate put her down with one well-placed headshot. As the trio continued through the building, it was almost painfully obvious that someone - or many someones - had looted everything that was at least semi-valuable. Overturned desks and dismantled filing cabinets told a story of desperation and disregard for history.

Up another flight of stairs, and voices could be heard on the other side of the closest door. Sophie looked at Nate and then at the bat in her hands and shrugged. They crept over to the door and waited for the footsteps on the other side to draw closer. She took a deep breath and threw the door open. As it slammed into the nearest hostile, knocking him back into the second, she darted out, gave a small skip around the door, and smashed the bat into the side of the nearest hostile, sending him toppling over the side of the broken railway and down three floors to the bottom of the ruined stairs below. Before the second had time to react, Nate aimed his gun past Sophie’s head and planted a bullet in his forehead. Beyond them was a man standing in the doorway at the end of the hall, wearing a bewildered expression. After a moment, he cleared his throat and waved them closer.

“Man, I don’t know who you are, but your timing’s impeccable,” he said once Sophie and Nate were close enough. “Preston Garvey, Commonwealth Minuteman.”

“Minuteman? Did we somehow manage to travel back in time?” Sophie asked, only partially joking. Anything was possible at this point.

Nate cast a brief, withering look at his friend before turning to the self-proclaimed Minuteman. “I’m Nate, and this is Sophie. It’s nice to meet you, Preston. What’s the trouble here?”

“We’re in a bit of a mess,” Preston explained. “A month ago, there were twenty of us. Yesterday we’re eight. Now we’re five. The ghouls drove us out of Lexington, so now we’re here.”

Sophie raised an eyebrow, but before she had a chance to ask what he meant by ‘ghouls,’ Nate cut in, “And the people outside?”

“The raiders? They came after us almost as soon as we got here. We have an idea of how to stop them and get out of here, though.”

“We’re all ears.”

Preston looked at the man trying to hack the terminal on the desk against the wall. “Sturges?”

“There’s a crashed vertibird on the roof. Old-school, pre-war. One of its passengers left behind a seriously sweet goody: a set of cherry, T-45 power armor. Military issue.” Sturges’ words caused Nate to perk up. If he’d been in the army before the Vault, Sophie wondered if he was familiar with power armor. “And it gets better,” the man’s southern drawl continued. “Get the power armor, and you can rip the minigun right of the vertibird.”

“Minigun? Now we’re talking,” Nate said with a grin.

“I know right? Only, there’s a slight hitch. The suit’s outta juice.”

“There’s a fusion core powering the generator in the basement. I can show you if you want,” Preston offered.

Nate nodded and looked at Sophie. “You stay here, we’ll be right back.” And with that, he and the Minutemen - who, to Sophie, looked a bit like a colonial cowboy - left in search of the fusion core.

Sturges went back to cracking the terminal, so Sophie looked at the other three refugees from Lexington. One woman was pacing and muttering angrily to herself, and another man sat on the floor a few feet away, hardly looking up around him. The elderly woman in the chair caught her attention, mostly because the dog had gone to sit by her and she was now watching Sophie intently.

“Dogmeat sure did find us some help. Just look at ya,” the woman said.

“Oh, uh, so he’s your dog?” Sophie asked, uncertain of what this woman could possibly mean. Nate looked far more like the daring rescuer type.

“Dogmeat’s what you’d call his own man. He chooses his friends and he sticks with ‘em. He’ll stay by you now. I  _ saw _ it.”

“You… saw it?”

“It’s the chems, kid. They give ol’ Mama Murphy the Sight. Been that way for as long as I can remember.”

Sophie’s brow furrowed. She didn’t remember people taking drugs to see the future before the war. “That’s pretty… incredible.”

“Kid, there’s something coming. Drawn by the noise, and the chaos. And it is… angry.”

“What is it?” She gripped her bat a bit tighter as Mama Murphy squinted.

“I see… Oh, it’s horrible, kid. Claws… and teeth… and horns. The very face of death itself.”

“Sophie?” She jumped as Nate dropped a hand to her shoulder. “Hey, you alright?” he asked.

“Th-there’s something out there. Something worse than a few guys with guns,” she replied.

“I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t handle. I’m going up to the roof; I’ll meet you and Preston on the ground. Fall back if they get too close. I want you safe, okay?” Sophie nodded and Nate gave her a quick hug.

She made her way with Preston back through the museum to face the raider threat out front with Nate.

“So, up close and personal, huh?” Preston asked, nodding at the baseball bat in her grip.

“I’m still figuring that out. I’m kind of new to this whole fighting thing.” She gave a sheepish smile. He chuckled. “Well, I’ve got your back. You ready?” Sophie nodded, and then they were out on the street again. A loud crash to their left told them that Nate had dropped in with the power armor and minigun, and the three of them began to clear the street with little trouble. Sophie found that not many of these raiders really knew what to do when she charged at them, welling and swinging. Their hesitation was their downfall.

They nearly reached the end of the road when the ground began to rumble. A moment later, the asphalt split and a giant, angry reptile burst out of the ground. It looked like some sort of demonic gator, and Sophie could only stand there, eyes wide and mouth agape, as it roared and swiveled its head to look at them.

“C’mon, Sophie! Run!” Preston shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her back toward the museum. She gave no protest, and the two of them ran as fast as their legs could carry them; they had to hop over debris and bodies, but eventually they made it and shut the door firmly behind them.

“What about Nate?” she cried, looking at the man who had pulled her to safety.

“That armor is the best protection any of us will get, and his minigun should put it down before it gets too close.” The two of them stood with their ears pressed to the door. Outside, the roaring of the creature and the steady stream of fire from the gun could be heard. It was impossible to tell who was faring better until complete silence washed over the building. Sophie bit her lip and reached for the doorknob with a shaky hand, but before she grasped it, the door was flung open to reveal a grinning Nate.

“What, didn’t want to stay for the show?” he teased. Sophie scowled and punched him in the side. “Hey! What was that for?”

“I was worried, you idiot!” She was close to the point of tears again, but she bit the inside of her cheek and pouted as Nate dropped a kiss to the top of her head.

“That was… a pretty amazing display,” the Minuteman said, looking as relieved as Sophie felt. “I’m just glad you’re on our side.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Preston,” Nate replied. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re headed to a place Mama Murphy knows about: Sanctuary. You two should come along.”

“Alright, Garvey. We’re in.” Preston smiled and went back to gather the others, and Nate turned to Sophie. “You okay? You weren’t hurt, were you?” She shook her head. “You’re pretty lethal with that bat. I think it works for you.”

“Yeah? It feels better than trying to aim the gun,” she admitted, and he laughed.

“So, are you ready to find this ‘Sanctuary’ place?”

“After Mama Murphy’s vision about the monster came true, I’d cut off my hand if she told me it would help.”

“Let’s not think about that.” Nate tilted his head a bit as he looked at her. “You’re tired.” She nodded, and he turned his back to her before going down on one knee. “I can carry you for a bit, I think you’ve earned a rest.” 

Sophie wrapped her arms around his neck; she hadn’t gotten a piggy-back ride since she was a child. By the time the party of five returned, Sophie was already having a difficult time keeping her eyes open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the rating went up, but it's purely for violence and language. THERE WILL BE NO SMUT IN THIS FIC. Any smut that may occur will be in a separate fic in this collection. Just so y'all know.
> 
> I also apologize for the length and pace of this chapter; I need to slog through all of this introductory material before we start getting to the good stuff.
> 
> Chapter title is the song Home by Phillip Phillips.

**Author's Note:**

> Sophie belongs to me, everything else is owned by Bethesda.
> 
> Chapter updates will also be posted to my gaming tumblr: the-folly-of-rin  
> Main tumblr: betweenlovelines  
> Generic writing tumblr: old-fashioned-inkedup


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